Page 146 - James Rodger Fleming - Fixing the sky

first Successful tests

FIDo consisted of a system of tanks, pipes, and burners surrounding British air-
fields and designed to deliver petroleum that, when ignited, raised the ambient
temperature by several degrees—enough to disperse fog and light the way for
aircraft operations. The first large-scale test of a FIDo system was conducted in
a field and did not involve aircraft takeoffs or landings. With strong radiation
fog predicted for the morning of November 4, 1942, the FIDo team assembled
at Moody Down, Hampshire. An 80-foot fire escape ladder was positioned
between two FIDo burners 200 yards in length and 100 yards apart. As a local
fireman climbed to the top of the ladder, he disappeared into the fog. When the
burners were lit, the fog began to clear and the fireman came into view. To verify
the result, the burners were turned down and the fog reappeared. The burners
were again ignited, and the fog dissipated. With typical British reserve, it was
reported that Lloyd “almost whooped for joy” (emphasis added). 43
on the same day, experiments were also conducted at the airfield in Staines,
Surrey, using coke-burning braziers shuttled by miniature rail cars along tracks
paralleling the runways. While an even denser fog was cleared with less smoke,
the coke took longer to light and required more effort to replenish. Gasoline
was much easier to pipe to airfields and ultimately became the fuel of choice for
FIDo. The urgency of the situation did not allow much time for further experi-
mentation and research. As a result, the petroleum burner setup at Graveley air-
field, Hertfordshire, served as the prototype for other FIDo systems ultimately
installed at fourteen Royal Air Force (RAF) fields.
on February 5, 1943, Air Vice Marshal Donald C. Bennett landed a Gypsy
Major at Graveley in a midday FIDo light-up. Thirteen days later, in the first night
test, he again landed, in a Lancaster. Although it was not foggy, visibility was poor.
Bennett recounted seeing the blazing runway when he was still 60 miles out. As
he made his approach, he recalled, “I had vague thoughts of seeing lions jumping
through a hoop of flames at the circus. The glare was certainly considerable and
44
there was some turbulence, but it was nothing to worry about.” Except wildfires.
A demonstration test for aircrews on February 23 resulted in grass, hedges, trees,
and telegraph poles near the burners going up in flame. All hands, in addition to
local bomb spotters and fire companies, were called in to fight the blaze. The first
opportunity to land an aircraft in actually foggy conditions occurred in July 1943.
A thick fog, approximately 300 to 400 feet deep, blanketed the runway, with vis-
ibility less than 200 yards. The FIDo burners were lit at five o’clock in the morning,
and within seven minutes, an area 1,500 yards long and 200 yards wide was cleared
of fog. Aircraft were then able to land successfully at fifteen-minute intervals. 45

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